President Barack Obama's effort in 2014 to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation was one of his top achievements on immigration.

The program should have rolled out this year, but zealots who are determined to block any immigration reforms are fighting to ensure that his order will remain tied up in legal battles.A federal court last month denied the administration's request to allow the immigration order to move forward while courts consider its constitutionality. The decision doesn't mean the reforms will never take effect, but it does mean they'll be stalled.Twenty-six states sued the government over the order, claiming it would pose an undue burden through the costs of processing driver's licenses and other documents for the immigrants.The arguments ignore decades of precedent on immigration policy, which historically has been up to the White House, not the states. Congressional Republicans have proposed other challenges, including threats to defund the Department of Homeland Security.Despite their fuss, this order ultimately doesn't change much. Obama would shield from deportation, for just three years, 4 million undocumented immigrants fewer than half the number in the country.They include parents of children who were born in the United States, but only if they've lived in the country for five years or more.Residents who were brought to the United States illegally as children before 2010 and highly skilled workers would also be allowed to apply for deferred deportation.None of this matters to opponents of reform, even though the nation has nothing to gain from deporting millions of immigrants Americans in all but name who live, work and pay taxes here.As Hispanic-Americans become an increasingly important voting bloc, anti-immigrant politicians will be forced to recognize that, or risk losing legitimacy. For the sake of millions of immigrants and their families, that needs to happen sooner than later.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette